Railing into the wind with 13 days to go

Organizationally weakened and fractured in pieces around the state, Democrats in unthreatened districts are taking refuge in a sturdy standby: progressive causes that don’t make mention of the governor’s race.

“With Hurricane Sandy, the City of Elizabeth witnessed the destruction that can result from a storm of this magnitude,” Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said yesterday at a news conference. “In addition to the loss of power for more than a week, the storm surge had a tremendous negative impact on our Waterfront. Using the knowledge and experience we have now to prepare for future events will greatly assist communities as they incorporate safeguarding efforts.”

“The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New Jersey – in lost lives, lost homes and lost businesses, was not something that was anticipated,” said Councilman-At-Large Manny Grova Jr. “If we all do our part on both a local and national level, we may be able to prevent such occurrences in the years to come.“

The President’s decision to take action to cut carbon pollution from power plants is particularly important, they said, since there are no current limits on carbon pollution from power plants – even though they are its biggest source. Industrial carbon pollution was just measured at the highest levels in human history. Obama’s plan also calls for infrastructure improvements to deal with the effects of climate change, and new investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.

Sixty-five percent of voters support “the President taking significant steps to address climate change now,” according to a February poll for the League of Conservation Voters, four digits higher than the approval rating of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who’s unconvinced of climate change as a factor in Superstorm Sandy.